The main Ross DMC themes summarised:
Improving local dementia daycare provision
The provision of a centre which decreases the dementia burden for carers and carees
Emphasis on those with mild to moderate dementia participating with their carers
Emphasis on independent carees ranking as carers
Responding to member wants and needs
Visits by experts who contribute to the therapeutic process
A wide range of activities designed effectively to engage carers and carees within that therapeutic process
Innovations within an innovation
Carers, carees, independent carees, and volunteers are a united team committed to reducing the dementia burden of its members.
Those categories are depicted - one of each. Can you tell who's whom?
The Ross DMC themes include:
Improving local dementia daycare provision by offering a better option than conventional
provision based on carers leaving their carees in the morning and collecting them in the
afternoon with little insight into what occurred between
The provision of a centre within which carers, carees (as members) and trained volunteers
operate together to decrease the dementia burden for carers and carees
Emphasis on the opportunity for those with mild to moderate dementia to participate
with their carers within a new and carefully planned therapeutic process within two
established DMCs, one innovative in 2015 and the other in February 2016.
Emphasis on the even-more innovative within this DMC's way in which independent carees
rank as carers. They are included on most occasions when carers meet to discuss their
separate interests. Personal choice is one of many features of Ross DMC and this group can choose to join carers or carees according to the event context.
Responding to member wants and needs via results of various feedback meetings
Visits by experts who contribute to the therapeutic process of decreasing the dementia
burden for carers and carees
A wide range of activities designed effectively to engage carers and carees within that
therapeutic process. Such activities include:
Physical and mental exercise, and often combined
Song and music - often combined with exercise
Reminiscence
The Ross DMC DIY approach
A DMC is an up-to-date version of a daycare centre with important advantages. The huge difference between a daycare centre and a DMC is that carers participate in the wider aspects of the care process which is person-centred and not a response to a set of dementia symptoms.
125 Dementia Meeting Centres - DMCs - have been successful in the Netherlands for over ten years. They focus on helping the person with dementia - the caree, their carer, and their family adapt to living with dementia. There are only two in the UK. The Ross DMC takes them all to an advanced stage as innovations within an innovation. Independent carees as self-carers is an innovative concept and is only included within the Ross DMC.
The Ross DMC DIY approach is another innovation within the Dutch innovation. It costs £80,000 per annum to run an existing UK DMC. Ross DMC doesn't see the point of sacrificing comparatively microscopic resources on anything its members will enjoy securing for themselves. The warm feelings and joy arising from using "our kit" enhances personal wellbeing and group cohesion.
An international project is setting up more DMCs in other countries and has created two in Leominster and Droitwich. They run on three days per week. The Ross DMC starts at Christ Church in Eddie Cross Street on Wednesday 1 March and it will operate once a week from 1100 to 1500. Its frequency will depend on success as judged by the members. Such outcome will influence funding application success.